Hiya,

what chord is this
G flat, C, A Flat?

and this
D Flat, B Flat, G

and this
F, D, C Flat

and this
A Flat, E Flat, C

and this
A flat, D, B, A Flat

thanks

1 Ab7/Gb
2 Dbdim7 (no3) or Bbm6/Db
3 Cbmb5/F (Bmb5/F)
4 Ab
5 Abdim

I've been learning chords lately, so here is my take:

> G flat, C, A Flat?

That's an Ab7

> D Flat, B Flat, G

Gdim

> F, D, C Flat

Bdim

> A Flat, E Flat, C

Ab

> A flat, D, B, A Flat

Ab dim

I don't think with 3 notes, out of any context, you can definitively say what those chords are. There are several possibilities for each.

Can you elaborate? If I tell you C E and G, doesn't that always mean C major?

Yes, C E and G is always a Cmajor triad. But, by context I think jjo meant what else is being played on the song, like the bass or melody. This can make all the difference; for example, if the bass note is:

- B: then we have a Cmaj7/B, Ionian scale or we may have an B7sus4(b9,b13), which is/comes from the II degree of A Harmonic Minor.

- Bb: then we have a Bb7(#11) - Lydian b7 -, which is/comes from the IV degree of F melodic minor.

- A: then we have an A-7, which may be related to the Dorian, Phrygian or Eolian scales, it depends on what else is being played, e.g. the melody.

- Ab: then we have an Abmaj7(#5) - lydian(#5) - which is/comes from the III degree of F melodic minor.

- G: maybe a C/G.

- F#: then we have an F#-7(b5,b9) - locrian - which is/comes from the VII degree of G major. We may have it, because the b9 tension (G in this case) is more like an "avoid note" and rarely used, often being changed for the natural 9 (G#), but it still works depending on context.

- F: then we may have an Fmajor7(9) - Ionian - without the third, which sounds very light. Or we can have an F-(maj7). It all depends on the rest that's being played.

- E: maybe a C/E.

- Eb: we have an Eb7(13, b9), which comes from the Dominant-Diminished scale.

- D: a D7sus4(9) or an D-7(9, 11), it depends which scale we are using.

- Db: we may have a Dbdim.

- C: now we have only a Cmajor.

And we probably didn't cover every option for those bass notes. Some of the bass notes may suggest more than only one chord with that configuration, this whitout thinking on the melody note and chord invertions. It all depends on the context.

Take care,
Lucas

I realize on reflection that I wasn't clear. If you pick three notes, and say those are the only three notes, and look at them in complete isolation, one can decide what chord the constitute.

I come, however, from the perspective of jazz and sophisticated pop music. There, we rarely play just a triad; it's always some kind of 7th chord, and frequently we had 9th, 13ths, etc. Furthermore, we (the keyboard) don't always play all of the notes in a chord. Some stuff is left the bass player, and other notes you just don't play in a voicing. Frequently we leave the root out if there is a bass player, or even if there isn't!

So, from my prespective, if you saw a jazz arrangement of a piece, and you picked out a chord played in the left hand that had three notes, to determine what chord it is you'd need context.

For example, say the left hand is playing (from bottom up), F, B D. Just looking at those notes, you'd say B dim. However, if the next chord after that was C major, and if the piece was in C, FBD would be a rootless version of the G7 chord resolving to C major. It's got the 3rd, the 7th and the 5th of a G7. This is an example of analyzing a chord within the context of a piece.

Hope this makes sense!

Great stuff, thanks. I know I need to learn a little more about chords.... I haven't yet gotten into 11ths and 13ths, etc. But based on the questions that the OP posed, and looking at the notes provided in isolation, do you agree with my answers?

> G flat, C, A Flat?
That's an Ab7

> D Flat, B Flat, G
Gdim

> F, D, C Flat
Bdim

> A Flat, E Flat, C
Ab

> A flat, D, B, A Flat
Ab dim

Yeap! =)
Keep going...

--
Lucas

Good! Actually it was your earlier answers that cast some doubt on my answers, but I see that you are talking about some more advanced stuff.